Amex Points Calculator
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American Express Points Calculator
Estimated Points Earned This Month
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Enter your spending details to see your potential points.
Understanding Amex Points and Rewards
American Express (Amex) offers a variety of credit cards that allow you to earn Membership Rewards® points or cash back on your everyday spending. These points can be redeemed for travel, statement credits, gift cards, and more. Maximizing your earnings involves understanding how different cards and spending categories contribute to your rewards balance.
This calculator helps you estimate the Amex Membership Rewards® points or cash back you might earn based on your monthly spending and the specific Amex card you use. It considers bonus categories, which are areas where certain cards offer a higher earning rate per dollar spent.
How the Calculator Works:
The calculator uses a simplified model to estimate your monthly rewards. It considers the following:
- Total Monthly Spending: The total amount you spent on your Amex card in a month.
- Card Type: Different Amex cards have different base earning rates and bonus categories. This calculator uses general earning structures for popular Amex cards.
- Bonus Category Spending: The portion of your total spending that falls into a specific bonus category for your card.
- Bonus Category Type: The specific type of spending (e.g., groceries, restaurants, flights) that aligns with a bonus category on your card.
Earning Rates (General Examples):
Please note that actual earning rates can vary based on the specific card terms and conditions, spending limits within bonus categories, and any ongoing or promotional offers. This calculator provides an estimate.
- Base Rate: Most cards offer a baseline earning rate (e.g., 1 point per dollar) on all purchases not in a bonus category.
- Bonus Rates: Popular bonus categories and their typical rates might include:
- U.S. Supermarkets & Restaurants: 2x to 4x points (e.g., Gold Card)
- Flights: 3x to 5x points (e.g., Platinum Card, Green Card)
- U.S. Gas Stations: 2x points (e.g., Blue Cash Everyday® Card)
- Transit & Select Streaming: 3x points (e.g., Amex Green Card)
- Cash Back Cards: Offer a percentage back (e.g., 3% cash back on groceries up to $6,000 per year, then 1%).
- Spending Caps: Many bonus categories have annual or quarterly spending caps. For example, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations, but this is capped at $6,000 in purchases per calendar year at each category ($12,000 total). After reaching the cap, the rate typically reverts to 1%.
Example Scenario:
Let's say you have the American Express® Gold Card and your monthly spending looks like this:
- Total Monthly Spending: $2,500
- Spending on U.S. Restaurants: $800
- Spending on U.S. Supermarkets: $700
- Other Spending: $1,000
The Gold Card typically offers 4x points on U.S. Restaurants and U.S. Supermarkets (up to $25,000 combined annually).
- Points from Restaurants: $800 * 4 = 3,200 points
- Points from Supermarkets: $700 * 4 = 2,800 points
- Points from Other Spending: $1,000 * 1 = 1,000 points
- Total Estimated Points: 3,200 + 2,800 + 1,000 = 7,000 points
This calculator simplifies these calculations to give you a quick estimate. Always refer to your card's official rewards program details for precise earning rates and terms.
function calculateAmexPoints() {
var purchaseAmount = parseFloat(document.getElementById("purchaseAmount").value);
var categorySpending = parseFloat(document.getElementById("categorySpending").value);
var cardType = document.getElementById("cardType").value;
var categoryType = document.getElementById("categoryType").value;
var baseRate = 1; // Default rate for most cards
var bonusRate = 0;
var categoryLimit = Infinity; // No limit by default
var isCashBack = false;
var cashBackRate = 0;
// Define card specific rates and categories
if (cardType === "green") {
// Example: Green Card – 3x on Travel, Transit, Restaurants (no cap typically mentioned for these specific categories)
if (categoryType === "flights" || categoryType === "travel" || categoryType === "transit" || categoryType === "restaurants") {
bonusRate = 3;
} else {
bonusRate = 1;
}
} else if (cardType === "gold") {
// Example: Gold Card – 4x on U.S. Supermarkets & Restaurants (up to $25k combined annually), 3x on Flights
if (categoryType === "restaurants" || categoryType === "groceries") {
bonusRate = 4;
categoryLimit = 25000; // Annual limit, simplified for monthly
} else if (categoryType === "flights") {
bonusRate = 3;
} else {
bonusRate = 1;
}
} else if (cardType === "platinum") {
// Example: Platinum Card – 5x on Flights booked directly or on Amex Travel, 1x on others
if (categoryType === "flights") {
bonusRate = 5;
} else {
bonusRate = 1;
}
} else if (cardType === "everyday") {
// Example: Blue Cash Everyday® Card – 3% cash back at U.S. Supermarkets (up to $6k/yr), 2% at Gas Stations (up to $6k/yr), 1% on others
isCashBack = true;
if (categoryType === "groceries") {
cashBackRate = 0.03;
categoryLimit = 6000; // Annual limit, simplified for monthly
} else if (categoryType === "gas") {
cashBackRate = 0.02;
categoryLimit = 6000; // Annual limit, simplified for monthly
} else {
cashBackRate = 0.01;
}
} else if (cardType === "preferred") {
// Example: Blue Cash Preferred® Card – 6% cash back at U.S. Supermarkets (up to $6k/yr), 6% at U.S. Gas Stations (up to $6k/yr), 3% on Transit/Streaming, 1% on others
isCashBack = true;
if (categoryType === "groceries" || categoryType === "gas") {
cashBackRate = 0.06;
categoryLimit = 6000; // Annual limit, simplified for monthly
} else if (categoryType === "transit" || categoryType === "streaming") {
cashBackRate = 0.03;
}
else {
cashBackRate = 0.01;
}
} else { // Other cards
bonusRate = 1; // Default to 1x for generic other cards
}
var totalPoints = 0;
var pointsFromCategory = 0;
var pointsFromOther = 0;
var cashBackEarned = 0;
var description = "";
// Handle invalid inputs
if (isNaN(purchaseAmount) || purchaseAmount < 0 || isNaN(categorySpending) || categorySpending purchaseAmount) {
categorySpending = purchaseAmount;
document.getElementById("categorySpending").value = purchaseAmount.toFixed(2); // Adjust input for clarity
}
var otherSpending = purchaseAmount – categorySpending;
if (isCashBack) {
var effectiveCategorySpending = Math.min(categorySpending, categoryLimit);
var remainingCategorySpending = categorySpending – effectiveCategorySpending;
cashBackEarned += effectiveCategorySpending * cashBackRate;
// If there was a limit and it was exceeded, apply the base rate to the overflow
if (remainingCategorySpending > 0) {
cashBackEarned += remainingCategorySpending * 0.01; // Assuming 1% on spending over the cap
}
cashBackEarned += otherSpending * 0.01; // Assuming 1% on base spending
var resultDisplay = "$" + cashBackEarned.toFixed(2);
var descriptionText = "Estimated cash back earned this month. Limits may apply to bonus categories.";
document.getElementById("result").textContent = resultDisplay;
document.getElementById("resultDescription").textContent = descriptionText;
} else {
// Calculate points for bonus category
// Simplified: assumes category spending is within any monthly/annual limits for bonus calculation.
// Real-world limits are often monthly or quarterly, and can be combined.
if (categoryType !== "none" && bonusRate > 1) {
pointsFromCategory = categorySpending * bonusRate;
}
// Calculate points for other spending
pointsFromOther = otherSpending * baseRate;
totalPoints = pointsFromCategory + pointsFromOther;
var resultDisplay = totalPoints.toFixed(0) + " Points";
var descriptionText = "Estimated Membership Rewards® points earned this month. Bonus category rates may have spending caps.";
document.getElementById("result").textContent = resultDisplay;
document.getElementById("resultDescription").textContent = descriptionText;
}
}